The Black Riders
by MajorBalto 243
Summary: After the Civil War, the Black Riders rose from the ashes of the Confederate Army and caused chaos throughout the South. Will they prevail?
1. Chapter 1

**The Black Riders**

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania July 1, 1883

_Battle of Gettysburg_

"FIRE!"

The one cry that can be heard over the cries of the wounded, the pop of the rifles, and the blasts from the cannons. The whole land is covered with the bodies of the dead and dying and the one thing that can and will make it worse is the soldiers charging at each other with bayonets drawn, going forth to rip the enemy apart.

The battle is between the Confederate States of America and the United States of America. The soldiers of the South called the northerners Yankees, Federalists, and the Union. The Union calls the southerners Confederates, the Grays, and the Rebels. This battle shows where the war is heading, but the story is after the civil war. But let's see what is happening at the front lines.

A black and white husky is sitting next to one of the greatest strategists to ever live; Robert E. Lee.

The husky looks at Lee and smiles. "Sir, this will be your greatest victory yet. The Union shall fall and the South will be its own nation."

Lee nods his head. "I agree Steele. But I need you to do something that will help us secure our win. I need you to round up some soldiers and charge the Union lines. We have to assault them and destroy their morale."

Steele nods his head. "You got it sir."

No matter what Lee did, he still lost the Battle of Gettysburg. This marked the downfall of the South and the near end of the Civil War. But after the end of the Civil War, one event occurred that goes by two names. In the North, it is called Reconstruction. In the South, it is called the War of Reconstruction. The North may have won the Civil War, but the South won the War of Reconstruction.

**A/N: Welcome to a Historical Fiction of Balto. How is it a Historical Fiction? Well, I will include actual events that happened in Reconstruction. So get rid of your phone and pull out your cards. We're going into the 1800s. R&R**


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2_

Steele is walking through the ranks of the Confederate Army and spots three soldiers sitting with each other around a fire. He walks over to them and sees that one's a brown Chow Chow and is a little…big. The second one is a blonde and brown husky with a brown spot over his left eye, and the last one is a grey husky that is the shortest of the three.

Steele walks over to them and frowns. "Nikki, Kaltag, and Star! Stand up! We're going to ride out and harass the Union lines. So get ready. We'll ride out in the night."

Kaltag nods his head. "You got it sir."

In another area of the Confederate Army, two hybrids were sitting around a fire while the third is watching the horizon.

The hybrid with the silver eyes looks at the one across from him and frowns. "Hey Kyle, how 'bout you pass that there plug you been hogging?"

Kyle starts to laugh. "Alex, how 'bout you get yer own damn plug! Stop trying to take mine."

Alex shakes his head and looks at the grey hybrid. "Hey Hunter! How 'bout we do something fun today. Let's get drunk off our ass!"

Hunter starts to laugh. "Sure. Might as well."

Alex and Kyle stand up and they head off with Hunter to get something to drink.

In the last part of the Confederate Army, a hybrid is talking with some of the soldiers when he sees Steele, Kaltag, Nikki, and Star approach him.

He turns towards them and salutes. "Sir!"

Steele just ignores him and keeps walking with the other three in pursuit. Balto shakes his head and walks over to General Lee.

He approaches Lee and salutes. "Sir, you called for me sir."

Lee turns his head towards him and smiles. "Ah, sergeant Balto. How's your wife?"

Balto smiles at him. "She's doing alright sir."

Lee nods his head. "Well that's good. Sergeant, get your horse. I want you to lead the charge. Now get ready. You'll need all the help you can get."

Balto salutes and runs off towards the make-shift stable. He gets on his horse and walks to the soldiers that are on horseback.

Balto raises his paw in the air. "FOR THE CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA!"

The soldiers cheer and shout and that's when they charge. As Balto is riding towards the Union soldiers, he starts to remember what his wife, Jenna, had told him.

_Balto is walking around the city of Montgomery with his wife, Jenna. She looks at him and smiles. He turns his head towards her and kisses her on the cheek._

_She starts to laugh and looks him in the eyes. "Balto, please return home to me after this war ends. Please! Can you do that for me?"_

_Balto nods his head. "Why of course I can. I'd do anything for you my dear."_

_She smiles at him again. "And can you bring Kodi back home? I don't want to lose anyone in this family, especially my son. Bring him home Balto. Bring him home."_

_Balto smiles at her. "It shall be done my love. It shall be done."_

Unfortunately for Jenna, he had failed her on that one. He had watched while his son had been shot repeatedly by the Union soldiers. It was the Battle of Shiloh. There were dead bodies everywhere and you could walk across the field and never touch the ground once. He shakes his head and looks up at the Union lines. He sees that they are preparing their defenses. He looks to his left and sees the whole Confederate army charging. He looks to his right and sees the other side of the Confederate Army charging. He will fight for the Confederacy, even if it means his life. 

__**A/N: Shiloh was truly one of the worst battles of the Civil War. About 23,700 people died. R&R**


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3_

Balto can hear the pop of the rifles and the screams of the soldiers being shot. He keeps riding his horse and everything seems to slow down. The sound of the rifles and the screams of the soldiers seem to be coming from somewhere else. It's as if he isn't at the battle, but yet he is. He looks to his left and sees the Confederate soldiers getting ripped apart by the Union forces. He keeps riding, but suddenly, his horse gets hit in the chest. The horse falls to the ground and Balto is thrown off of its back. As he lies right next to his dying horse he can hear the sound of someone calling a retreat. He looks around and sees the battered forces of the Confederate army running back towards the tree line. Balto pushes himself to his feet and heads back to Lee.

_July 2, 1863_

Balto believed he had failed Lee. Lee had basically told him to take Gettysburg. Balto couldn't even do that right. Maybe they might take it today.

_Gettysburg; the one place that pushed the Confederacy even farther down the path to defeat. Lee had wanted a Confederate victory so badly that he wouldn't listen to one of his generals who had said to go around them. It cost the lives of 43,000-51,000 soldiers. On July 4, 1863, Lee retreated across the Potomac River. This battle was one of the bloodiest battles fought in the Civil War. For now, let's jump to July 3, 1863._

_July 3, 1863_

Steele is smiling, not because he believes he can win Gettysburg, but because Lee had given command of the attack to Steele. Balto had been in complete control of the attacks, but Lee saw Balto's defeat two days ago and had him relinquish his command to Steele. Balto had to watch as Steele led the charge against the Union forces. Balto shakes his head and walks over to where Lee is.

Lee sees him and smiles. "Ah, sergeant Balto. I see you have something on your mind."

Balto nods his head. "Sir, how come you-"

Lee nods his head. "You're upset about giving up your command to Steele. Well, I did that so you could go home. I hear you talk about your wife all the time so I took you off the frontlines. And besides, Steele is too much into war. It'll be his downfall."

Balto nods his head. "I…I understand sir."

Lee smiles at him again. "Good. We're maneuvering the soldiers to attack the main line of the Union army."

Balto smiles at him. "I'll prepare the soldiers. They need all the encouragement they can get."

_ Remember, the South lost Gettysburg so no matter what they did, they still lost. Badly. Well let's jump to the War of Reconstruction. _

_June 4, 1865_

Balto is walking back to what he calls his home. He lives in the city of New Orleans. As he's walking, he hears the sound of horses walking behind him. He turns his head and sees four riders wearing black.

He laughs at them. "And I suppose yer all scalawags. Go ahead and shoot me. I'd rather die for the Confederacy than swear allegiance to your Union."

The leader looks at the other three and nods his head. He turns back towards Balto. "We fought for the Confederacy as well. You better head on home. We'll take care of these Union bastards."

Balto nods his head and twists around and continues to walk down the road again.

**A/N: Welcome to Reconstruction. If you don't know what a Scalawag is, it's someone who is a Southerner that supports Reconstruction. And another term you will see is Carpetbagger. That is someone who is from the North that is going to live in the south. R&R**


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter 4_

Balto is towards his house. He knows that Jenna will probably never forgive him for what he is about to say to her. But, he has to be brave and tell her. He shouldn't be the only one to know that his son is dead.

Jenna is in the kitchen preparing a meal for herself and Aleu. Ever since Balto and Kodi left for war, Jenna has only been making the meals for two. She still can't get over the fact that Kodi had stopped writing letters and Balto never answered her questions anymore. She is about to chop a carrot when she hears a knock at the door. Thinking that it's Dixie wanting to chat. She walks over to the door and opens it. What she sees when she opens the door nearly makes her faint. On the other side of the door, wearing a battered Confederate uniform is her husband Balto. Balto is smiling at her and tears start to form in his eyes. She looks at him and starts to cry. She walks over to him and hugs him. Somehow, she already knew that Kodi wasn't going to come back home. She starts to cry harder and Balto is holding her tight.

She looks up at him and starts to cry again. "Is Kodi…Is Kodi really…?"

Balto nods his head and he starts to cry. "I'm…I'm sorry…I'm sorry Jenna. I tried to…I tried to save him…but he was…he was already…"

He starts to cry even harder and Jenna realizes why. Balto had been there when Kodi was killed in battle. She embraced him again and they stand in the doorway crying.

Three hours later, Balto is sitting at the table with Jenna and Aleu. He didn't know who those riders in black were, but maybe they would leave him alone. Hopefully, the Union soldiers don't come to his house and make him take the pledge. He disliked the Union for how quickly they decided that they were in charge of everything.

Unexpectedly, he starts to laugh. Jenna looks at him and frowns. "What's so funny?"

Balto shrugs his shoulders. "I…I don't really know. I just…started laughing."

Jenna stares at him awkwardly. "Well…ok then."

Balto smiles at Aleu, but he hears a knock on the door. He growls in frustration and walks over to the door and opens it. His jaw drops as he sees five Union soldiers in front of him. The first one smiles and grabs his shirt and throws him out onto the dirt. Balto meets the ground hard and two of the soldiers proceed to beat him. In between the blows, he watches as the other three go into his house and pull out his wife and daughter. They put them on their horses, all the while Jenna and Aleu are screaming and flailing around in their grasps, and they ride off into the night while the two that are beating Balto stop when they see he can't do anything back. They smile and one of them grabs a torch and hurls it towards the house and pretty soon, the house becomes a mass of fire. Balto watches as they get on their horses and ride off and disappear within the darkness. He struggles to his feet and runs into the house. He searches high and low until he finds what he's looking for; six revolvers that are pure black. He runs back out of the house, but falls to the ground and his vision becomes black.

Three hours later, eight riders wearing black see the smoke rising into the sky. The leader starts to ride faster and the others follow him as fast as possible. Within minutes, they come across a figure lying in the dirt. The leader jumps off of his horse and approaches the figure in the dirt.

He flips him over and turns his head to one of the other riders. "Kaltag, get him on yer horse. He seems useful."

Kaltag nods his head. "You got it Hunter."

**A/N: Poor Jenna and Aleu. Will Balto find them? R&R**


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter 5_

_April 6, 1862_

_ Balto is irritated with the fact that the Confederates lost Fort Henry and Fort Donelson. Even though it was lost in February, it was still irritating. He looks to his left and sees his son Kodi approaching him._

_Balto smiles at Kodi. "What's on yer mind there, sport?"_

_Kodi starts to laugh. "Sport? Is that your new nickname for me now?"_

_Balto starts to laugh. "Yeah. If you don't like it, I can always call you yellowbelly."_

_Kodi shakes his head. "Sport is good. Anyways, you keep talking about the Union attack. When do you think they'll come?"_

_Balto shrugs his shoulders. "I don't know. But I know they're coming."_

_Kodi nods his head and walks back towards his tent. Balto keeps watching for the Union army. He doesn't want to be caught off guard again._

...

Kaltag is riding with the other eight riders and Balto is lying on his horse. They had taken him in mostly because he was armed to the teeth. They had also taken him because they had lost one of their members and they needed another to take his place. Kaltag didn't know Balto personally, but they had fought together in Lee's army. Maybe they may have the chance to fight together again.

_..._

_Balto had predicted that the Union army would attack. Well he was right. They had launched an attack and they had hit hard. Balto and his son are fighting against the Union soldiers. He looks at his son and he sees that his son is truly the definition of brave. Kodi fires his rifle and as he's reloading, four Union soldiers run over to where Balto and Kodi are fighting from. Balto pulls out his bayonet, but instead of putting it on his rifle, he rams the blade into the closes Union soldier's throat. Blood sprays onto his muzzle and the soldier starts to gargle and choke on his own blood. _

_Balto hears his son start to scream. "Dad! Help me! Dad!"_

_Balto pulls the bayonet out, but stops when he hears the pop of a rifle. He twists around and sees that the three Union soldiers had each shot Kodi in the chest. Balto became so angry…so filled with rage that he lunged at the closest Union soldier and jammed the bayonet into his chest. The other two started to bring their rifles up, but Balto pulled out his two revolvers and killed them both. _

_As soon as they fell, he ran over to Kodi and held him in his arms and begins to cry. "Kodi! I'm…I'm sorry that I…I didn't protect you. It should be me lying here and you going home. You should be heading home. You…you should be…"_

_Kodi looks up at him and weakly smiles. "Da…Dad, you did all that you could for me. I want you to tell mom that I died a hero. Please tell her that I died a hero."_

_Balto starts to cry even harder. "Son…no matter what I say, she'll always believe that you died for what you thought is right."_

_Kodi smiles at him weakly. "Dad, can you sing the song you sang to me when I was a kid. I always loved that song."_

_Balto nods his head. "Of course I will son."_

_Balto starts to cry and he begins to sing. "I leave my home and thee dear,  
With sorrow in my heart,  
It is my country's call, dear,  
To aid her depart I depart;  
And on the blood-red batle plain  
We'll conquer or we'll die,  
'Tis for our honor and or name,  
We raise the battle cry." _

_Kodi begins to cough up blood. Balto starts to cry even harder, but keeps singing._

_"Then weep not dearest, weep not,  
If in her cause I fall,  
O, weep not dearest weep not,  
It is my country's call." _

_Kodi starts to moan in pain. Balto cries even harder and holds him tight._

_"And yet my heart is sore, love,  
To see thee weeping thus;  
But mark me, there's no fear, love,  
For in Heaven is our trust.  
And if the heavy, drooping tear  
Swells in my mournful eye,  
It is that Northmen of our land  
Should cause the battle cry." _

_Kodi starts to spit up blood and Balto wipes the side of his mouth._

_"Our rights have been usurped, dear  
By Northmen of our land,  
Fanatics raised the cry, dear,  
Politicians fires the brand.  
The Southrons spurn the galling yoke,  
The tyrant's threats defy.  
They find we've sons like sturdy oak  
To raise the battle cry." _

_Kodi's breathing becomes slower and Balto keeps on singing._

_"I knew you'd let me go, pet,  
I saw it in that tear,  
To join the gallant men, pet,  
Who never yet know fear.  
With Beauregard and Davis,  
We'll gain our cause or die,  
Win battles like Manassas  
And raise our battle cry."_

_Balto looks down at his son and sees that he has passed on. Balto starts to cry and starts to sing another song to show his sorrow. _

_"We shall meet but we shall miss him. _

_There will be one vacant chair. _

_We shall linger to caress him, _

_While we breathe our ev'ning prayer. _

_When a year ago we gathered, _

_Joy was in his mild blue eye. _

_But a golden cord is severed. _

_And our hopes in ruin lie. _

_We shall meet, but we shall miss him. _

_There will be one vacant chair. _

_We shall linger to caress him, _

_While we breathe our ev'ning prayer. _

_At our fireside, sad and lonely, _

_Often will the bosom swell, _

_At remembrance of the story, _

_How our noble Kodi fell. _

_How he strove to bear our banner, _

_Thro' the thickest of the fight, _

_And uphold our country's honor _

_In the strength of manhood's might. _

_True they tell us wreaths of glory, _

_Evermore will deck his brow, _

_But this soothes the anguish only, _

_Sweeping o'er our heartstrings now. _

_Sleep today o' early fallen, _

_In thy green and narrow bed. _

_Dirges from the pine and cypress _

_Mingle with the tears we shed."_

**A/N: These two songs are actual Civil War songs. Well I hope you enjoyed (or became depressed) this chapter. R&R**


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter 6_

Balto wakes up and sees that he's in a tent. He shakes his head and pushes himself out of the cot. He sees his six revolvers are sitting on the table and sitting next to the revolvers are some black clothing items. He shakes his head and pushes himself out of bed. He feels as if he got kicked by a horse. He walks over to the table and he sees the black bandanna and the black hat. He also spots the black holsters and smiles. He has just become one of the Black Riders.

Kaltag is sitting around the fire with the other riders and he hears Balto walk out of the tent. He turns his head and he sees Balto wearing the gear of the Black Riders; a black hat, a black bandanna around his mouth, and the black holsters. What truly made Balto the most unusual is that his revolvers were black and on the bottom was a silver cross.

As Balto sat down next to the fire Kaltag smiles at him. "So you're finally awake. Let me introduce you to the others. See the silver-eyed one. His name is Alex. Our leader is Hunter. The big one is Nikki. The short one is Star. The dog with the black tint is Kyle. The other grey one is Ryan. And the last one Victor."

Balto smiles at them all. "So who actually served in the Civil War?"

He watches as they all raise their paws. Balto nods his head and sits back down.

Hunter stands up and smiles. "Today, we have a new member to join our ranks. We shall make those damn carpetbaggers what Hell will be unleashed upon them."

The other Black Riders raise their paws in the air and start to cheer and shout.

Balto doesn't raise his paw or shout into the night. He only wants to get his family back and he'll kill anyone to see them again.

Three months later, two Union soldiers are walking down a path when they hear a horse behind them. They both turn around and they see a dog wearing a black hat, black bandanna on his muzzle, and six black holsters; two on his waist, two on his sides, and two across his chest.

They stare at him and one of them starts to laugh. "Well, look what we have here. A lone rider who will end up being in serious trouble if he keeps following us."

The other one frowns at the rider. "Scram you yellowbelly."

The rider shakes his head and looks at the first one. "Have you seen the soldiers who burned down Nettleton Manor?"

The first one laughs. "Why? Are you Mr. Nettleton?"

The rider starts to laugh. "No. I am not Mr. Nettleton. Mr. Nettleton sold me his house and the name stuck. So answer my question! Who. Burned. Down. Nettleton. Manor?!"

The soldier growls at him. "Like hell I'll tell you!"

The rider shakes his head again. "Damn carpetbaggers. You're no use to me."

The soldiers start to laugh, but stop when they see him pull out two revolvers.

He aims at both of them and glares. "Now who'll answer my question? And I hope one of you darkies lovers will answer the question. I'd hate to be on a trail that goes nowhere again."

The soldiers look at each and shake their heads. They look back at the rider and start to laugh. "You actually think that-"

The rider had lost all of his patience and shot both of them. Both the soldiers fell onto the road and the rider pressed on alone. His journey will take him far and wide. As the rider is walking down the road, eight riders join him from the tree line and follow him to wherever destiny leads them.

**A/N: This has just been brought to my attention. Someone mentioned something about black soldiers in the Union army. Well, you're correct about that. In fact, about 40,000 black soldiers died during the course of the Civil War. But, it wasn't just the Union army that had black soldiers. Anyway, you just read the term darkies. A darky is a black person. Darkies is plural and...why am I teaching English? Anyway, R&R**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Warning: You will see some offensive terms that were used in the 1800s. And I'm not racist. Please don't kill me! **

_Chapter 7_

_June 30, 1866_

Balto and the Black Riders are walking through the city of New Orleans. Balto hears the sounds of people marching and booing. He looks to his left and he sees a bunch of black dogs of the Union army marching down the street.

He hears what they are shouting about. "We want to vote! We want to vote! We want to vote!"

Ryan shakes his head. "Damn niggers! They don't deserve to vote!"

Balto twists around and growls at him. "Shut the hell up! You have no idea what yer talking about!"

Ryan starts to laugh. "Balto, you and I both know that the damn niggers are lazy and useless! We might as well torture them!"

Balto frowns at him. "Ryan, we will not touch the darkies! So let's get out of…Oh shit!"

Balto is watching as the black marchers are getting attacked by…the civilians who were watching the marchers. Balto and the Black Riders quickly leave the area to avoid the gruesome butchering of the marchers.

Three days later, Balto and the Black Riders are in a small town. Balto used to know the name, but that was years ago. His son used to talk about it all the time, but for some reason, he can't remember. He looks around and realizes…this town is lawless. Well, there's a sheriff, but that's about it. He sees the sheriff walk out and instantly knows who he is.

The sheriff approaches Balto and smiles. "Welcome to this beautiful-"

Balto glares at him. "Shut up carpetbagger."

Balto keeps riding until he gets to the saloon. He stops in front of the saloon and dismounts his horse and ties it up to the rail. Ryan watches as Balto disappears inside.

Five minutes later, Balto watches as the rest of the Black Riders walk into the saloon. He sees Kaltag look at him and point him out to the others. They walk over to him and sit down at the table.

Hunter looks at Balto and frowns. "Do you know him?"

Balto nods his head. "Yeah, he's one of the soldiers who kidnapped by wife and daughter. I'm going to…to…kill him."

Hunter starts to laugh. "No, no yer not. You won't kill him. All of us are going to kill him. Remember Balto; we are brothers. We are either together in this, or we don't do this at all. Now, when shall we murder the carpetbagger?"

Balto smiles at Hunter. "Three days from now. Just so we don't cause too much suspicion on us."

Hunter nods his head. "Ok then. Boys, we're going to have some fun while we're here. Nothing better to do anyways."

The sheriff is walking around the jail when he comes across a certain cell. He walks right in front of it and stops.

He turns and peers inside the cell and begins to laugh. "Wake up you dumb bitch! You keep mentioning yer father and how he's _coming_ to save you. Well guess what you whore! Why would he want to save you anyways? He probably thinks yer a waste of time. He doesn't want you! He's probably already moved on!"

The sheriff watches as the figure within the cell stands up and walks over to where the sheriff is and glares at him. "Yer all talk. You don't even realize that he's looking for me, but he wants to murder the ones who attacked him and burned down his house. He won't stop until yer all dead. So you should shut yer mouth and remain silent. You never know when his wrath will be unleashed upon you and yer miserable friends."

The sheriff remains silent and walks away.


	8. Chapter 8

_Chapter 8_

_"With all my devotion to the Union, and the feeling of loyalty and duty of an American citizen, I have not been able to make up my mind to raise my hand against my relative, my children, my home. I have, therefore, resigned my commission in the Army..." _

_Robert E. Lee_

_Gettysburg, Pennsylvania July 1, 1863_

Sergeant Balto is engaged in one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. He has charged the Union lines and is under the command of Pike. The charge will be later named Pike's Charge. As Balto is fighting on the frontlines, his hearing seems to leave him and the only thing that is making him fight is just a sheer will to survive. He rams the bayonet that is on his rifle into the chest of one of the Union's black soldiers. He watches as the soldier grabs at the rifle and blood starts to pour out of his mouth. Balto pulls the bayonet back out and smashes the end of the rifle into another Union soldier. He looks back and sees some of the Confederate black soldiers charging.

Balto raises his paw into the air. "FORWARD!"

Balto starts to charge again and the Union soldiers did the opposite of what Balto expected them to do. Balto watched as one of the Union officers looked at the charging Confederates and raises his sword into the air.

Balto hears him shout out "CHARGE!"

It was now a clash of bayonets and swords. The pop of rifles was replaced by the sound of wood and sword smashing into each other. A new sound also fills the air. Balto could hear the thump of the wood rifles smashing into flesh or the sickening sound of bones cracking. Balto ignores the new sounds and jams the bayonet into another Union soldier. He had jammed the blade into the dog's stomach and he heard the sound of flesh ripping and he sees the tip of the blade rip out of the dog's back. Balto ignores the sight and rips the bayonet back out. The soldier falls onto his side and blood starts to pour out of his abdomen and mouth. Balto keeps charging, but soon finds himself running back as the Union soldiers begin their death charge.

Balto looks back and shouts out "RETREAT! RETREAT!"

The Union soldiers pursue the Confederates, but stop when they run into the tree line.

_Gettysburg, Pennsylvania _

_July 2, 1863_

The second day of Gettysburg and Balto is charging towards Little Round Top. The Union forces have reinforced the hill and were willing to defend it to the death. As Balto reached the top of the hill, he dove behind some cover and a firefight begins. Balto aims his rifle and fires. He sees a Union soldier fall to the ground as the lead round ripped through his chest. He ducks down again and starts to reload. He re-aims the rifle and fires again. Another Union soldier falls to the ground as the lead round ripped through his throat. As Balto is reloading, the Union forces charge. Balto shakes his head and places the bayonet onto his rifle and begins to charge along with the rest of the Confederates who had stormed up Little Round Top. Balto is jamming the bayonet into the Union soldiers or smashing the rifle butt into them. He looks around Little Round Top and sees that they are pushing them back little by little.

After a bitter and long struggle on Little Round Top, Balto shouts out "RETREAT!"

The Confederates once again retreat, but this time they run back to Devil's Den. Balto takes position near one of the cannons. He points at the Union soldiers and shouts out "FIRE!"

The sound of the cannons firing and the sight of the Union soldiers getting ripped apart made Balto smile. He doesn't know why he's smiling, but he doesn't like it. He keeps watching until the Union forces attack Devil's Den. A battle engages there for awhile, but in the end, the Confederates retreat back towards Peach Orchard and Trostle Farm.

_Gettysburg, Pennsylvania _

_July 3, 1863_

Steele believes he will take Gettysburg for he is charging the left flank of the Union forces while Hunter is charging the right flank. What they don't know is that Balto is taking the fight directly to the very middle. Lee had entrusted him the duty of taking Gettysburg and that's what he'll do. He is on his horse and is leading the charge against the Union forces. He can taste…he can taste…defeat. Somehow, he knew that Gettysburg would be one of the battles where the South would surely lose and with that defeat, would ultimately lose the war. He keeps charging and an explosion happens right next to him, but he keeps charging. The soldiers around him are getting ripped apart by the Union forces and Balto pulls out his revolver. He aims it at one of the Union soldiers and fires. The soldier falls to the ground and blood is oozing out of his chest. When he killed the soldier, it was different. It wasn't…exciting as it used to be. He used to get a rush from jamming a bayonet into the flesh of the Union forces or feeling the recoil of the rifle hitting his shoulder and the revolver kicking back and still have the entertainment of a soldier falling to the ground as a bullet rips through them. But now, it was as if the feeling was…lost to him. It wasn't like how a child gets bored with a toy and plays with another one. It was more of a monotonous thing. Doing the same thing every day and getting the same result. But it was also because the Confederates haven't had too many victories against the Union. That tends to destroy morale quickly. Balto aims the revolver again and fires at another soldier. When the bullet hit, the soldier slid to the ground and died…slowly. Balto keeps pushing his horse forward and he hears the sick crunch. He looks down and sees that the horse had stepped on the fallen Union soldier's head and crushed it. He looks back up and sees that the other two Confederate lines are retreating. He shakes his head and yells out "RETREAT!"

Balto turns the horse around and runs towards Peach Orchard.

**A/N: Welcome back to the Civil War. But, you probably want to hear about The War of Reconstruction. Chapter 9 will talk more about that. And if you spotted the Historical inaccuracy that is in this chapter, good job. R&R**


	9. Chapter 9

_Chapter 9 _

Balto is walking around the small town. He still doesn't know the name of it. It was something his son had always talked about going to. The only thing he knows is that the town is in Tennessee. That's about it. He keeps walking until he comes across a church. He smiles at it, but starts to cry when he sees a sign outside of the church.

The sign read: Shiloh Church 23,000 Lives have met With the Lord.

Balto looks closer and sees that names have been written on the sign. He starts to read the names and he comes across one that brings tears to his eyes: _Kodi July 5, 1846-April 6, 1862 May he Rest in Peace._

Balto touches the name Kodi and tears start to fall from his muzzle. He had lowered the black bandanna and had brought the rim of his hat to cover his eyes. He looks to his left and sees the cemetery. He runs over to the grave stones and starts to search for a specific headstone. As he's searching, he finds one that looks like the cross, but it was made out of wood. He walks over to it and sees that his son's rifle is leaning against the cross. He falls right in front of it and begins to cry. As the tears start to drip down to the earth from his muzzle, he looks up at the cross and smiles. "Son…I'm…so…proud of you. You did…what others could…not. I want you to know…that I…I love you son."

Balto cries even harder and he looks up at the sky and smiles. ""I leave my home and thee dear,

With sorrow in my heart,

It is my country's call, dear,

To aid her depart I depart;

And on the blood-red battle plain

We'll conquer or we'll die,

'Tis for our honor and or name,

We raise the battle cry.

Then weep not dearest, weep not,

If in her cause I fall,

O, weep not dearest weep not,

It is my country's call.

And yet my heart is sore, love,

To see thee weeping thus;

But mark me, there's no fear, love,

For in Heaven is our trust.

And if the heavy, drooping tear

Swells in my mournful eye,

It is that Northmen of our land

Should cause the battle cry.

Our rights have been usurped, dear

By Northmen of our land,

Fanatics raised the cry, dear,

Politicians fires the brand.

The Southrons spurn the galling yoke,

The tyrant's threats defy.

They find we've sons like sturdy oak

To raise the battle cry.

I knew you'd let me go, pet,

I saw it in that tear,

To join the gallant men, pet,

Who never yet know fear.

With Beauregard and Davis,

We'll gain our cause or die,

Win battles like Manassas

And raise our battle cry."

Kaltag is walking by the cemetery when he sees Balto is crying in front of one of the graves. Kaltag starts to laugh and walks over to where Balto is.

He approaches Balto and laughs. "Balto, yer such a yellabelly. Crying over a dead person and you don't even know who it-"

Balto turns his head towards Kaltag and glares. "Go…away Kaltag! I'm…mourning my…my son!"

Kaltag looks at Balto and then at the cross and then back at Balto. His eyes become apologetic. "Balto I'm…I'm sorry. I…I didn't know."

Balto turns his head back at the wooden cross. "It's…It's alright. You didn't know. He…He died right in front of me and I couldn't do a damn thing about it! You once asked why I hate the Union soldiers so much. Well, it's because they took my son away from me."

Kaltag puts his paw on Balto's shoulder and says, "Take all the time you need. We'll plan out the death of the sheriff."

Balto nods his head and keeps mourning his son.


	10. Chapter 10

_Chapter 10_

On the third day, the Black Riders are waiting for nightfall to begin their plan. Balto and Alex are following the sheriff to see where he goes during the day and to see where he lives. Balto turns his head to the left and sees a prison wagon being driven by two… "Holy shit! Alex, try not to be seen by them. Yankee police officers don't like us Southerners too well."

Alex nods his head. "Yankee bastards. They never let us do anything without persecuting us."

Balto looks forward again and sees the sheriff walk into the bank. Balto and Alex wait outside for the sheriff. After three hours, the sheriff finally walks out and heads back to the jail. Balto and Alex follow him and as soon as he disappeared inside, Balto turns to Alex and says, "Go get the others. It starts in one hour."

Alex nods his head and runs off to get the others. Balto shakes his head and walks inside the jail.

The sheriff is writing names down when he hears someone walk through the doors. He looks up and sees a…well, he sees a dog wearing a black bandanna, a black hat, six black holsters; two on his waist, two on his sides, and two across his chest. He even had six black revolvers and a black belt which had a large knife with a black hilt.

The sheriff looks up at him and smiles. "Well, good morning. It's pretty hot out today. You should probably take off all that black gear. Yer probably sweating beads."

The dog looks at him and asks, "Have you seen a girl named Aleu? She's wanted in Texas and Alabama for murder."

The sheriff frowns at him. "Are you a bounty hunter?"

The dog nods his head. "Yessir. I'm a bounty hunter. I've been on the trail of that bitch and she's been elusive. So have you seen her?"

The sheriff nods his head. "Yes I have. We just sent her to a prison in D.C. She and her mother are getting sent there as well. Her father was killed in a raid. He put up a fight, but we managed to kill him."

The dog walks over to the window. He looks back at the sheriff and sees that the clock on the wall says that the time is seven o'clock. The dog walks back over to him and quickly pulls out his knife and slams the blade down into the sheriff's paw that was lying on the desk.

The sheriff screams in pain and the dog grabs him and says, "You filthy, little scumbag! You think you can tell a false little tale to the one that was there! Now tell me; why did you do it?!"

The sheriff looks at him and says, "Be-Because you were a Confederate! I…I hope your bitch of a wife dies…"

Balto growls and yanks the knife out and quickly cuts the sheriff's throat. The sheriff grabs his throat and blood starts to seep through his fingers and he falls onto his back. Balto walks past him and sees that his deputies are…asleep.

Balto frowns at them. "How can they…whatever."

He pulls out two revolvers and shoots both of them. They both slump in their chairs and blood starts to pour out of their chests. Balto looks at the jail cells and sees that there are three dogs in the cells.

Balto walks over to them and asks, "What are you in for?"

The dogs answer back with "Murder" or "Stealing" and "Framed".

Balto starts to laugh. "What if I could give you a second chance in life? What if I could free you? What if I could tell you that you could join the Black Riders? What would you say?"

They all say "We'd say yes".

Balto smiles at them. "Good. Welcome to the Black Riders."

He pulls out one of his revolvers and shoots the locks for each cell.

Alex and the others are waiting for Balto to come out. After two minutes, Balto walks out of the jail with three others following him.

Alex raises one of his eyebrows. "Uh…who are they?"

Balto shrugs his shoulders. "Hell if I know. They're just recruits. That's all I know."

Alex looks at the new recruits and smiles. "Well then, welcome to the Black Riders."


End file.
